Turkmenbashi GPP sold 7,500 tonnes of PP at Commodity Exchange of Turkmenistan in early May

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The next export trades at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan were held in the first three days of May. 7,500 tonnes of polypropylene (PP) were sold, as per ICIS-MRC Price report.

On 1 May, Turkmenbashi Gas Processing Plant's 11,500 tonnes of PP were put up for auction at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan at the starting price of USD960/tonne FCA/FOB port of Turkmenbashi.

Buying activity in the trades was not as high as in April. However, about 7,500 tonnes of PP to be shipped within 4-6 months were contracted at the starting price in the first three days of the trades.

As reported earlier, in April, Turkmenbashi GPP's 45,000 tonnes of PP were put up for auction in the export trades of the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan. The put up for action PP was aimed for shipment within 9 months at the starting price of USD960/tonne FCA/FOB port of Turkmenbashi. 33,500 tones of PP were sold at the Commodity Exchange for the whole month.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's state-owned refiner China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said it has loaded the first crude oil through its Myanmar-to-China pipeline, the latest step towards supplying crude to its new refinery in Yunnan province, reported Reuters.

Some 1,150 cubic meters per hour of crude flowed into the 480-mi pipeline from Tuesday, CNPC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The move comes almost a month after the first tanker carrying 140 Mt of crude started discharging into the pipeline following the official launch.

CNPC's PetroChina plans to import overseas oil and pump it through the pipeline to supply its new 260,000-bpd Anning refinery in landlocked Yunnan province.

The pipeline starts at Kyauk Phyu in Myanmar's west and enters China at the border city Ruili and is a joint investment by CNPC and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

As MRC informed earlier, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will join UzIndoramaGazChemical, a joint venture that will build a USD2.5 bln complex to produce polyethylene at the Mubarek Gas Refinery in Uzbekistan's Kashkadarya region. CNPC had signed a memorandum to join Uzbek national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz and Singapore's Indorama Group in the joint venture.

China National Petroleum Corporation operates oil and gas assets in Africa, Central Asia/the Russian Federation, America, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific, and other regions. The company engages in hydrocarbon exploration and production operations in onshore and offshore areas; operates refineries and petrochemical enterprises that produce crude oil products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and lube oil, etc.; and manufactures and supplies chemical products, such as synthetic resins, fibers, rubber, urea, organic/inorganic chemical products.
MRC

МОCOW (MRC) -- Novatek of Russia signed a framework agreement on strategic cooperation with Technip, Linde and Research and Design Institute for Gas Processing (NIPIGas) on Arctic LNG 2, said Novatek.

The companies agreed on conditions for the design and development of future LNG plants based on gravity-based structures for the Arctic LNG 2 project as well as subsequent liquefied natural gas projects developed by Novatek.

Novatek also signed the license agreement with Linde AG to purchase the license on natural gas liquefaction technology for the Arctic LNG 2 project.

Speaking of the agreement, Novatek’s chairman Leonid Mikhelson said that the company has gained competencies regarding LNG projects through the development of the Yamal LNG.

"We have chosen a new technical design concept for our next LNG project," Mikhelson said, adding that the newly signed agreements improve the economics on the company’s next LNG projects.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it had started loading a tanker with 2 MMbbl of crude oil bound for Egypt, marking the first shipment under a bilateral agreement, reported Reuters.

Under a one-year agreement reached last month between Iraq and Egypt, Iraq will sell 12 MMbbl of oil to Egypt, the ministry said.

As MRC informed before, in 2015, CB&I was awarded a contract by Carbon Holdings for the license and engineering design of a polypropylene (PP) unit to be built in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. The unit will be aligned to the Tahrir petrochemical complex and use CB&I's Novolen technology to produce 350,000 tpy of PP.

Besides, in April 2017, Bechtel, a company in engineering, procurement, and construction, announced that it had been awarded two contracts by Carbon Holdings of Egypt: one to provide project management services for the Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex at Ain Sokhna, Egypt, and one to build two new PP units at an adjacent site.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia has begun shipping large quantities of oil to Cuba for the first time this century, sources said, as supplies to the island from crisis-wracked Venezuela have dwindled, said Reuters.

A Russian oil tanker with 249,000 bbl of refined products is due to arrive in Cuba on May 10, according to Reuters shipping sources and others, bringing back memories of when the Soviet Union supplied all of the Communist-run Caribbean island’s energy needs. More tankers apparently will follow.

Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company, announced on Wednesday it had signed an agreement with Cuba’s state-run Cubametals to supply 250,000 t of oil and diesel fuel, without providing further details.

The news is sure to raise eyebrows in Washington as its tense relations with Moscow continue, despite President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to improve them. The Russian company has already become a concern for the United States. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA last year used 49.9% of its shares in its US subsidiary, Citgo, as collateral for loan financing by Rosneft.

According to Jorge Pinon, an oil expert at the University of Texas at Austin, the Cuba deal is equivalent to around 1.865 MMbbl and valued at USD105 MM at current prices.

In comparison, Russia reported it shipped oil products to Cuba from 2010 through 2015 valued at USD11.3 MM. Cuba consumes 22,000 bpd of diesel and 140,000 bpd of oil products.

"It is very clear that Cuba is diversifying its long-term supply contracts in the event that its October 2000 subsidized oil agreement with Venezuela is terminated," Pinon said.

Cash-strapped Cuba struggled with long blackouts and fuel shortages after the fall the Soviet Union, but the rise of the late Venezuela leftist President Hugo Chavez quickly solved the crisis at the turn of the century.

Since then Cuba has relied on Venezuela, an OPEC member, for about 70% of its fuel needs, including oil for refining and re-exports.

But socialist Venezuela’s subsidized shipments have fallen by as much as 40% since 2014. Potential new suppliers usually want cash because of Cuba's poor credit rating.

Electricity and fuel rationing to state companies began a year ago, and more recently there have been gasoline shortages.

A change of government in Venezuela, which has been experiencing daily protests, would directly threaten the agreement.
MRC